Jan 04 2009
Two ways to a perfect Victoria sandwich and some other stuff
Whichever method you choose for your cake, the ingredients are the same. You want 3 large very fresh eggs for a cake made in 8 inch tins. For 9 inch tins, use 4 eggs.
My weight measurement conversions are approximate but they are for fillings so small differences are not significant. The weight of eggs vs other ingredients in the cake mix is what counts.
How do you know an egg is fresh? Break it onto a plate. If the yolk stays domed and stands away from the white, the egg is fresh. If it collapses into a flat disc, the egg is stale. Really bad eggs go green and smell.
Use it in scrambled egg, put it in a foo yong stir fry, or throw it away, but don’t make cakes with it. The yolk colour is not significant to this test, and will depend on what the hen was fed on and to some extent on the breed. It can also be seasonal, summer eggs are usually darker.
The yolk of free range chickens that have pecked round a field or yard to forage for themselves a bit as well as getting good quality grain feed will be dark gold, almost orange, battery eggs are much paler yellow as a rule. Brown eggs are not necessarily better and again depend on the breed of hen. End of eggy lessons.
Now, weigh your eggs. This is absolutely vital. You need exactly the same weight of fat, flour and fine caster sugar as your eggs. What fat to use. Only one thing will do and that is good quality UNSALTED butter. Please don’t use the spreadable butter for baking as many have a small proportion of vegetable oil. Save it for your toast.
I go to France several times a year, popping across the Channel is easy from where I live in Southern England, either underneath on the Eurotunnel service where you sit in your car, on a train for a 35 minute journey, or by one of the many ferry routes. Point here, is that even now, with the decline of the pound sterling vs. the Euro, French unsalted butter – even the organic (biologique) type - is cheaper and you can buy plenty and freeze it for all your home baking
For these recipes, you want the butter soft, but not melting. If it is the right consistency it will blend easily with the other ingredients with no unmixed lumps or curdling. Continue Reading »
